Kansas City Royals reliever Aroldis Chapman suffered a bizarre injury over the weekend at his house but isn't expected to miss much time.
Aroldis Chapman slipped and fell at his house on Saturday night, cracked a tooth and split his lip open, requiring stitches. It’s still pretty swollen but he’ll try to play catch today, throw a bullpen tomorrow and get into a game soon. He says he’s feeling OK now. #Royals
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) February 27, 2023
Chapman signed a one-year, $3.75 million contract with the Royals in late January, ending his six-plus-season run with the New York Yankees. Though Chapman made three of his seven career All-Star teams while pitching for the Yankees, the close to his tenure in the Bronx was strenuous to say the least.
After skipping a mandatory team workout in early October 2022, the southpaw was left off the team's postseason roster and issued a fine. Instead of making amends, the two sides split up later that month.
Chapman is coming off of arguably the worst season of his career. He was limited to 36 1/3 innings pitched across 43 games due to multiple injuries. Even when healthy, the former All-Star closer was inconsistent and finished the campaign with career worsts in ERA (4.46) and WHIP (1.43).
The move from one of the most pressure-packed baseball environments in New York to one of the smallest markets in Kansas City could be a win-win for both Chapman and the Royals. Though the Cuban will turn 35 on Tuesday, he could still have a couple of solid seasons left in him. He was an All-Star as recently as 2021.
Kansas City made a low-risk, high-reward move in signing Chapman on just a one-year deal, and if he shows his pre-2022 form, the 2016 World Series champion may be able to turn it into a bigger payday next offseason.
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